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All Columbia University and
affiliated students may participate in the U.S. Air Force ROTC program
headquartered at Manhattan College.
AFROTC is the largest source of
commissioned officers for the Air Force.
So what is officer training?
It's simple, really. The military provides you with training and money to
help you start a career and cover your college expenses. You, in return,
commit to a term of service in the military after earning your degree. The
military gets bright, young officers who are well-trained and
well-educated, and you get a college education and a guaranteed career
after graduation. As a Cadet you are not enlisted personnel, you are an
officer candidate, a distinction created by congress.
Air Force ROTC scholarships
cover tuition, an annual textbook allowance, most lab fees and $250-$400
spending cash per academic month. Air Force ROTC currently has 4, 3, 2,
and 1 year programs by which college students can become commissioned. And
you can enroll in Air Force ROTC classes at the same time and in the same
manner as you do for other college courses.
For the four year course,
the first two
years of the program, known as the General Military Course, consist of
one hour of classroom work and one to two
hours of leadership laboratory each week. Field training is also part of the schedule.
The General Military Course is an opportunity for students not on an Air
Force ROTC scholarship to try out the program with no
obligation.
After completing General Military
Course requirements, you move on to Professional Officer Course. In the
Professional Officer Course, you apply what you have learned in the
General Military Course and at field-training encampments. And in
Professional Officer Corps you actually conduct the leadership
laboratories and manage the unit's cadet corps. Each unit has a cadet
corps based on the Air Force organizational pattern of flight, squadron,
group and wing. Classroom topics include management, communication skills
and national defense policy. And once you've enrolled in the Professional
Officer Course, you're enlisted in the Air Force Reserve and assigned to
the Obligated Reserve Section. This entitles you to a monthly $350-$400
nontaxable subsistence allowance during the academic year.
For more information go to the
AFROTC website at www.afrotc.com or the Manhattan College ROTC
website at www.afrotc560.com
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